Many networks have numerous networking devices such as switches, routers, hubs, and the like. Management devices may be provided within the network to monitor the operation of the network. Such management devices may include a centralized server that receives network status messages from various agents distributed throughout the network. Each network status message provides a status pertaining to some aspect of the network, such as a switch port that has failed, a router that has failed, etc. The centralized server receives all such network status messages and processes them in a suitable fashion.
The centralized server may have responsibilities besides just receiving and processing the network status messages. For example, a user may interact with the centralized server to configure the network in some fashion. It is possible that the volume of network status messages may overwhelm the centralized server effectively preventing the server from doing anything but receiving and processing the network status messages.